Join us on a fantastic May Bank Holiday weekend as we set sail for our South Coast rally to Poole. Berthing reservations have been secured at Poole Quay Boat Haven for the nights of Saturday 24th May and Sunday 25th May 2025. We warmly welcome land-based participants to join the rally anytime from Saturday afternoon.
THE PLAN
Saturday 24th May: Arrival in Poole
Make your way to Poole Quay Boat Haven marina
Join the group from the afternoon onwards. We will be hosting evening pontoon drinks.
Sunday 25th May: A Day to Explore Poole
Enjoy a day exploring of Poole and its surroundings. A few ideas:
- Poole Harbour & Quay
- Brownsea Island trip
- Sandbanks Beach
- Poole Museum
Evening: We can look at organising a group meal when we get a better idea of number of registrants. Poole offers some excellent dining options.
Monday 26th May: Homeward Bound
Crew to return to home ports.
Please check pilotage information.
Your host will be Luke Hutchings
Any questions, please email southcoast@gaysailing.org.uk
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GETTING HELP TO JOIN US
Crew seeking berths are initially advised to visit the club Facebook ‘Crew Match’ page. If you are unsuccessful or not in the Facebook group, you are welcome to contact the event host.
Land based participants are as always welcome to join, and may wish to take advantage of one of the local hotels or B&B's in the area.
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?
1. Register your attendance via the S&CA website by 20th May
2. Visit the Facebook CrewMatch page for all crewing opportunities
3. Upon approach, skippers will be required to contact the harbour / marina by VHF 77 for specific berthing instructions. (please state you are part of the S&CA / Sailing & Cruising Association Rally)
4. You can bring along friends, but remember to ‘add guest’ at the point of your registration. Guests can only be added at the time of registration. If you later want to add a guest and the event did not require payment please cancel your registration and re-register adding your guest. If your registration did require payment please contact the event host.
EVENT SAFETY AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
We are very much a social club, but participants must please be mindful of the inherent dangers of alcohol consumption and proximity to water. There have been incidents in past events of participants consuming excessive alcohol and falling from pontoons into the water. Each of these events could, but for luck, have resulted in tragic consequences. Please be mindful of your alcohol consumption on club events, and take particular care to ensure that you can get yourself safely back on board at the end of a social evening. We need to look after each other, so if you notice that another participant is showing effects of intoxication, please make other members of their crew aware, and ensure that they are not returning to the boats or pontoons alone.
Please also be aware of the additional risks when using dinghies / tenders, which has also resulted in event participants being unintentionally in the water.
Please use the links below for safety advice from the RYA and RNLI:
https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge/safety
https://rnli.org/safety
PAYMENT OF RESTAURANT BILLS
When meals have not been paid in advance, members should assume, as the default, that the bill will be split individually according to each individual’s or perhaps each crew’s fair share.
If proposing to split the bill equally between a large group, members are requested to ensure that EVERYBODY is happy to do that, and that this is asked in a way which will not cause embarrassment. Those wishing to pay individually should always feel free to do so before the remaining balance is split between those happy to do so.
CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDSThe club will endeavour to provide full refunds for event charges when cancellations are made by you through the Website and made in good time. Normally, a week before the event is due to take place will be sufficient.
If the club has made third party bookings, paid deposits or made other commitments, it may be that only a partial refund or no refund is offered.
Where a refund is requested due to dissatisfaction with third party goods or services, a refund will only be offered if such refund is also made to the club by the third party.
